The fifth entry in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise hits theaters this weekend, and while it doesn’t look to be quite as successful as the previous entries in the adventure film series, it will still easily take the weekend with as much as $80 million projected for the extended Memorial Day weekend debut.

There has been some chatter as to whether or not Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Taleswould be the last movie in the franchise, bringing the series to an end. But in order to talk about the possible continuance of the franchise, we must venture into a sea of spoilers that includes talking about the Pirates 5 credits scene that appears at the end. So if you haven’t seen Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, don’t read after the jump.

How Does Dead Men Tell No Tales End?

If the latest Pirates of the Caribbean sequel ends up being the last film in the franchise, the narrative of the movie itself does end in a spot that could easily mark the end of our adventures with Captain Jack Sparrow.

The plot of Dead Men Tell No Tales revolves around the MacGuffin of Poseidon’s trident because it has the power to nullify any curses on the sea and those who sail it. Henry Turner (Brenton Thwaites) wants it so he can relieve his father Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) from being doomed to stay aboard The Flying Dutchman, sailing the bottom of the sea for years at a time and missing out on a life with his family. Jack Sparrow wants it so he can end the curse that he set upon Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem) so that he might stop his mission of vengeance against him. And the new character Carina Smyth (Kaya Scodelario) wants to find it to finish a life pursuit set forth by her father.

In the end, everyone gets what they want (mostly). After the trident of Poseidon is found, it’s destroyed, breaking all of the curses that have plagued the sea, no matter how long they’ve lasted. Captain Salazar becomes human again and ends up dying in a climactic final sequence. Carina Smyth gets to finish her father’s work and learns that her father is none other than Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) in the process (though he does sacrifice himself to save her and seemingly dies). And Will Turner returns to land and reunites with his love, Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley). Jack Sparrow is back in charge of the Black Pearl, and he hits the sea with his crew to enjoy the pirate’s life again. It’s a happy ending. But then the credits scene happens.

Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Men Tell No Tales Credits Scene

After the credits have rolled, we return to the house of Elizabeth Swann and Will Turner. The couple lies in bed at night as a thunderstorm can be heard outside. As lightning flashes and thunder claps, suddenly there’s a creak as someone can be heard shuffling through the house, coming towards the door of the bedroom.

The door opens, and as the dark figure moves towards the bed, a silhouette becomes visible. At the head of the shadow, we can see some tentacles wiggling just before a big lobster claw lifts into camera and clicks as thunder claps outside. Davy Jones (played by Bill Nighy previously) has returned.

The sound wakes up Will in his bed suddenly. He looks around, but there’s no one to be found in the bedroom. He must have been having a nightmare. He rolls over to put his arm around Elizabeth and goes back to sleep. But the camera pans below the bed, and we see a few barnacles have been left behind, showing us that this wasn’t just a dream. Davy Jones has somehow come back, and it seems like he has his sights set on Will Turner.

Pirates 5 Credits Scene: How Is This Possible?

The last time we saw Davy Jones was in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, his heart was removed from the Dead Man’s Chest and stabbed by Will Turner after having his own heart stabbed by the tentacled pirate. All this happened in the middle of a maelstrom caused by Calypso in response to Davy Jones’ betrayal of the sea goddess he once loved when he was a mortal man. Jones fell into the maelstrom and was presumed dead. You can watch the scene above to refresh your memory.

The question is, how is it possible for him to return? Even if Davy Jones somehow survived the maelstrom, why would he still look like the sea monster he became while patrolling the sea in the Flying Dutchman? Shouldn’t he be human again now that the breaking of Poseidon’s trident broke all of the curses on the sea?

This seems like a plot hole for the time being, but presumably, if there is another Pirates of the Caribbean sequel (and it looks like Disney is counting on it), that will be explained by the story. Just as a guess, I suppose it’s possible that the maelstrom may have sucked Davy Jones into another world where Poseidon’s trident had no effect on the curse placed on him so many years ago.